KR102770945B1 - Protects vacuum pumps from deposition byproduct buildup - Google Patents

Abstract

A processing chamber, such as a plasma etch chamber, may perform deposition and etch operations, and byproducts of the deposition and etch operations may accumulate in a vacuum pump system fluidly coupled to the processing chamber. The vacuum pump system may have a plurality of roughing pumps such that etching gases may be diverted to a roughing pump and deposition precursors may be diverted to another roughing pump. A diversion line may route unused deposition precursors through a separate roughing pump. The formation of deposition byproducts may be prevented by incorporating one or more gas exhausters or venturi pumps at the outlet of a primary pump of the vacuum pump system. Cleaning operations, such as waferless automated cleaning operations using specific cleaning chemistries, may remove deposition byproducts before or after the etching operations.

Description

Protects vacuum pumps from deposition byproduct buildup

Cited for reference

A PCT application form has been filed concurrently with this application as part of this application. Each application claiming priority or benefit as identified in the concurrently filed PCT application form is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

Vacuum pumps are widely used in semiconductor processing equipment to provide a clean and/or low-pressure atmosphere within a processing chamber. These vacuum pumps may be fluidly connected to the processing chamber to remove byproducts and unused etching and deposition precursors. Some vacuum pumps may be susceptible to undesirable buildup of byproducts from the mixing of etching and deposition precursors, which can corrode and otherwise deteriorate the vacuum pumps over time.

The background art provided in this specification is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The work of the inventors named in this specification to the extent described in this background art, as well as aspects of the present technology (description) that may not otherwise be recognized as prior art at the time of filing, are not expressly or implicitly admitted as prior art to the present disclosure.

Provided herein is an apparatus comprising a processing chamber, an etching gas delivery system configured to introduce one or more etching gases into the processing chamber, a deposition precursor delivery system configured to introduce one or more deposition precursors into the processing chamber, and a vacuum pump system in fluid communication with the processing chamber. The vacuum pump system comprises a first roughing pump, a second roughing pump, and a turbomolecular pump in fluid communication with one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump.

In some implementations, the vacuum pump system is configured to direct one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump and to direct one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump. In some implementations, the vacuum pump system further comprises a foreline in fluid communication with the processing chamber and configured to receive the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber, and a valve coupled to the foreline and configured to direct the one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump at a first location and to direct the one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump at a second location. In some implementations, the vacuum pump system further comprises a divert line in fluid communication with the deposition precursor delivery system, the divert line being configured to divert deposition precursors that are not used in the deposition cycle from the deposition precursor delivery system through the second roughing pump. In some implementations, one or more of the etching gases comprises hydrogen bromide (HBr) and one or more of the deposition precursors comprises an amino-silane precursor.

Another aspect of the present disclosure involves a vacuum pump system for evacuating one or more etching gases and one or more deposition precursors from a processing chamber. The vacuum pump system includes a first roughing pump for receiving the one or more etching gases from the processing chamber, and a second roughing pump for receiving the one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber, wherein one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump are configured to be in fluid communication with a turbomolecular pump.

In some implementations, the vacuum pump system further includes a foreline in fluid communication with the processing chamber and configured to receive one or more etching gases and one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber, and a valve coupled to the foreline and configured to direct the one or more etching gases through a first roughing pump at a first location and configured to direct the one or more deposition precursors through a second roughing pump at a second location.

Another aspect of the present disclosure involves a vacuum pump system for evacuating one or more etching gases and one or more deposition precursors from a processing chamber. The vacuum pump system includes a first roughing pump for receiving the one or more etching gases and one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber, and a second roughing pump for receiving deposition precursors that are not used in a deposition cycle, wherein one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump are configured to be in fluid communication with a turbomolecular pump.

In some implementations, the vacuum pump system is configured to direct one or more etching gases and one or more deposition precursors through the first roughing pump and to direct deposition precursors that are not used in the deposition cycle through the second roughing pump. In some implementations, the vacuum pump system further includes a diversion line in fluid communication with the deposition precursor delivery system, the diversion line being configured to divert deposition precursors that are not used in the deposition cycle from the deposition precursor delivery system through the second roughing pump. In some implementations, the one or more etching gases comprise hydrogen bromide (HBr) and the one or more deposition precursors comprise an amino-silane precursor.

Another aspect of the present disclosure involves a method of cleaning a vacuum pump system. The method comprises performing one or more deposition operations on a wafer within a processing chamber, performing one or more etching operations on the wafer within the processing chamber, and performing a cleaning operation using reactive gases flowing through a vacuum pump system, wherein the cleaning operation is performed before or after the one or more etching operations, and wherein the vacuum pump system is in fluid communication with the processing chamber.

In some implementations, the step of performing the cleaning operation occurs between the deposition operation and the etching operation. In some implementations, the steps of performing the one or more deposition operations, performing the one or more etching operations, and performing the cleaning operation occur using a wafer within the processing chamber. In some implementations, the step of performing the cleaning operation occurs without a wafer within the processing chamber. In some implementations, the reactive gases include nitrogen trifluoride (NF ₃ ), sulfur hexafluoride (SF ₆ ), carbon tetrafluoride (CF ₄ ), chlorine trifluoride (ClF ₃ ), chlorine (Cl ₂ ), oxygen (O ₂ ), ozone (O ₃ ), or combinations thereof. In some implementations, the reactive gases include ozone. In some implementations, the method further comprises generating the reactive gases in-situ within the processing chamber by a plasma reaction. In some implementations, the method further comprises generating the reactive gases by a plasma source positioned in a foreline, the foreline providing an interconnection between a vacuum pump system and the processing chamber. In some implementation examples, the method further comprises generating reactive gases by a remote plasma source positioned outside the foreline, the foreline providing an interconnection between the vacuum pump system and the processing chamber.

Another aspect of the present disclosure involves a vacuum pump system for exhausting one or more etching gases and one or more deposition gases from a processing chamber. The vacuum pump system includes a roughing pump through which deposition precursors and etching gases are exhausted from the processing chamber, a gas exhauster connected in series with the roughing pump and positioned downstream from the roughing pump, the gas exhauster being configured to reduce a pressure at an outlet of the roughing pump.

In some implementations, the gas ejector is a venturi pump connected to an outlet of the roughing pump, the venturi pump being configured to flow an inlet gas through a body of the venturi pump and mix the exhausted deposition precursors and etching gases from the body of the venturi pump. In some implementations, the inlet gas comprises an inert gas, clean dry air, or nitrogen gas (N ₂ ). In some implementations, the vacuum pump system further comprises an abatement component configured to process the deposition precursors and the exhaust gases, and the gas ejector is positioned between the abatement component and the roughing pump.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing device for performing etching operations and deposition operations according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump used in series with a turbomolecular pump according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 2a is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a “full divert” vacuum pump system having two separate pumps according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 2b is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a “bypass divert” vacuum pump system having two separate pumps according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 2c is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a “multi-inlet” vacuum pump system operating at different pressure stages according to some implementation examples.
Figure 3 illustrates examples of rotor components of a vacuum pump system according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary method of a cleaning process for preventing deposition byproduct build-up in a vacuum pump system according to some implementation examples.
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump having an outlet in fluid communication with a reduction component.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary venturi pump illustrating a pressure gradient across the length of the venturi pump according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary venturi pump having components configured to connect to a vacuum pump system according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 8a illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system modified to include a roughing pump and be connected in series with a gas ejector, according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 8b illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump connected in series with a gas ejector according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 8c illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump modified to be connected in series with multiple gas ejectors according to some implementation examples.
FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a plurality of venturi pumps operating as multi-stage venturi backing pumps of a vacuum pump system according to some implementation examples.

In this disclosure, the terms "semiconductor wafer," "wafer," "substrate," "wafer substrate," and "partially fabricated integrated circuit" are used interchangeably. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the term "partially fabricated integrated circuit" can refer to a silicon wafer during any of the many stages of integrated circuit fabrication. A wafer or substrate used in the semiconductor device industry typically has a diameter of 200 mm, or 300 mm, or 450 mm. The detailed description below assumes that the present disclosure is implemented on a wafer. However, the present disclosure is not so limited. The workpiece may have various shapes, sizes, and materials. In addition to semiconductor wafers, other workpieces that may benefit from the present disclosure include various articles such as printed circuit boards.

Introduction

Typically, the deposition process and the etch process are performed in separate tools or platforms. For example, deposition chambers typically do not perform etch processes, and etch chambers typically do not perform deposition processes. In some embodiments, the device may be configured to perform the deposition process and the etch process in a single processing chamber. For example, the ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) processes and the etch processes may be performed in a processing chamber, such as a plasma etch chamber. When performing both the ALD processes and the etch processes on a wafer within the processing chamber, the deposition precursors and etch gases may be flowed through the processing chamber and exhausted via a vacuum pump system.

Unreacted deposition precursors and etching gases may be exhausted by a vacuum pump system fluidly coupled to the processing chamber. Unreacted deposition precursors and etching gases may form and mix undesirable byproducts in the vacuum pump system that may damage the pumping equipment. In some instances, the deposition byproducts may accumulate in a roughing pump of the vacuum pump system, where the deposition byproducts degrade the roughing pump, thereby reducing its performance and life. Without being limited by any theory, it is believed that process chemicals (e.g., deposition precursors, etching gases, or reaction products) are retained in the roughing pump after a deposition or etching operation, a chemical reaction with the retained chemicals follows, and the same process chemicals flow through the roughing pump. For example, an acid gas, such as hydrogen bromide (HBr), may react with iron components in the roughing pump to form iron bromide, which is a Lewis acid catalyst. When subsequently exposed to a deposition precursor, such as an amino-silane precursor gas, a number of reactions may ensue that generate deposition byproducts having lower volatility than the original amino-silane precursor gas. Accumulation of the deposition byproducts within the pump can lead to premature pump failure. In some instances, the deposition byproducts can be dark tar-like substances. Accumulation of the deposition byproducts reduces the utility of using deposition precursors and etching gases together in a single processing chamber.

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for removing deposition byproducts from a vacuum pump system or preventing deposition byproducts from forming in a vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the deposition gas and the etching gas may be separately exhausted via separate pumps in fluid communication with the processing chamber. In some embodiments, the pump may have multiple inlets for accessing the pump to the processing chamber, depending on the operating pressure of the pump. In some embodiments, the internal surfaces of the pump are heated to an elevated temperature to vaporize the deposition byproduct or prevent surface reactions that would otherwise form the deposition byproduct. In some embodiments, the internal surfaces of the pump are coated with a corrosion-resistant material to prevent or minimize surface reactions that would otherwise form the deposition byproduct. In some embodiments, the purge times are determined such that the purge operations performed between the deposition and etching operations are sufficient to remove the etching gases and deposition precursors from the vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the purge operation may use reactive gases to remove the deposition byproducts or remove the deposition/etching gases from the vacuum pump system. The cleaning chemicals may comprise oxygen, ozone, or combinations thereof. The cleaning chemicals may comprise fluorine-containing species, chlorine-containing species, bromine-containing species, iodine-containing species, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, one or more gas exhausts or venturi pumps may be provided downstream from the roughing pump to reduce the exhaust pressure at the outlet of the roughing pump. In some embodiments, a plurality of gas exhausts or venturi pumps may act as a primary pump to create at least a "rough" vacuum within the processing chamber. One or more of the aforementioned embodiments may be combined together to prevent deposition byproduct buildup.

Integrated etching/deposition device

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus for performing an etching operation and a deposition operation according to some implementation examples. The processing apparatus (100) may be an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus. The processing apparatus (100) includes a plasma chamber (132), such as a plasma etch chamber. In some implementation examples, the Kiyo™ reactor manufactured by Lam Research Corporation of Fremont, CA, is an example of a suitable reactor that may be used as a plasma etch chamber.

Details regarding a processing apparatus (100) for performing etching and deposition operations are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/669,871 to Zhou et al., entitled “INTEGRATED ATOMIC LAYER PASSIVATION IN TCP ETCH CHAMBER AND IN-SITU ETCH-ALP METHOD,” filed Aug. 4, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

The plasma chamber (132) may include the overall chamber structure, which may be defined by chamber walls (114) and a window (106). The window (106) may be fabricated from quartz or other dielectric material. In some implementations, the plasma chamber (132) includes a substrate support (116) disposed within the plasma chamber (132). In some implementations, the substrate support (116) is an electrostatic chuck for supporting a substrate (112) on which a deposition/etch process is performed. The electrostatic chuck may include electrostatic electrodes for chucking and dechucking the substrate (112). A filter and a DC clamp power supply (not shown) may be provided for this purpose. Other control systems for lifting the substrate (112) from the substrate support (116) may also be provided. The substrate support (116) is configured to receive and hold the substrate (112).

In some implementations, the substrate support (116) may include a heater (not shown) for heating the substrate (112). The substrate support (116) may operate at an elevated temperature, such as from about -20 Å to about 150 Å. The temperature will depend on the process operation and the particular recipe. In some implementations, the plasma chamber (132) may also operate at particular pressures, such as from about 1 mTorr to about 1 Torr.

In some implementations, the processing device (100) may include a Radio-Frequency (RF) power supply (120) that may be used to bias/charge the substrate support (116). The RF power supply (120) may be provided by one or more RF generators. If multiple RF generators are provided, different frequencies may be used to achieve different tuning characteristics. A bias matching circuit (118) is coupled between the RF power supply (120) and the substrate support (116). In this manner, the RF power supply (120) is connected to the substrate support (116).

A coil (134) is positioned over the window (106). The coil (134) is made of an electrically conductive material and includes at least one complete turn. The coil (134) illustrated in FIG. 1A includes at least three turns. An RF power supply (121) is configured to supply RF power to the coil (134). A matching circuit (102) is coupled between the RF power supply (121) and the coil (134). In this manner, the RF power supply (121) is connected to the coil (134). In some implementations, an optional Faraday shield (not shown) is positioned between the coil (134) and the window (106). The Faraday shield may be maintained in a spaced relationship with respect to the coil (134). The Faraday shield may be positioned directly over the window (106). A Faraday shield may also prevent metal or other material from being deposited on the window (106) of the plasma chamber (132).

RF power is supplied from an RF power supply (121) to the coil (134) to cause RF current to flow through the coil (134). The RF current flowing through the coil (134) may generate an electromagnetic field around the coil (134). The electromagnetic field generates an induced current within the plasma chamber (132) that acts on gas(es) present within the plasma chamber (132) to generate plasma. Various ions and/or radicals from the plasma may interact with the substrate (112) to perform a deposition or etching operation.

In some implementations, the processing device (100) includes a plasma grid (not shown) that may optionally be used to divide the plasma chamber (132) into an upper portion and a lower portion. The plasma grid may be used to limit the amount of high temperature electrodes within the lower portion of the plasma chamber (132). In some implementations, the processing device (100) is designed to operate such that the plasma present in the lower portion of the plasma chamber (132) is ion-ion plasma and the plasma present in the upper portion of the plasma chamber (132) is electron-ion plasma.

Process gases may be introduced into the plasma chamber (132) from the top of the plasma chamber (132) via a first gas injector (104) and/or from the side of the plasma chamber (132) via a second gas injector (110). The process gases may include vaporized liquid precursors or vaporized solid precursors, which may be vaporized in a solid source vaporizer (not shown) upstream of the processing device (100). One or more reactant gases may be supplied via the first gas injector (104) and/or the second gas injector (110). In some implementations, the gas injectors (104, 110) may be replaced by showerheads. It will be appreciated that additional or different gas supplies may be provided to supply different gases to the plasma chamber (132) for various types of operations.

The various manners of injecting gas(es) into the plasma chamber (132) illustrate that process gases, vaporized liquid precursors, and/or vaporized solid precursors may be provided into the plasma chamber (132) from a variety of locations. In some implementations, only the first gas injector (104) is used. In some other implementations, only the second gas injector (110) is used. In some other implementations, both the first gas injector (104) and the second gas injector (110) are used. In some implementations, manifolds (122) control the gases supplied to each of the different gas lines. The manifolds (122) allow any type of gas (reactant, carrier, precursor, etc.) to be provided from any of the different gas lines. In some implementations, the carrier gases may include gases such as oxygen (O ₂ ), nitrogen (N ₂ ), and helium (He). The gases may be introduced into the plasma chamber (132) without mixing, or may be mixed with other gases prior to being introduced into the plasma chamber (132).

The manifolds (122) may be used to select, switch, and/or mix outputs from each of the delivery systems of the delivery system (128). In some implementations, the delivery system (128) may include an etching gas delivery system (127) and a deposition precursor delivery system (129). The etching gas delivery system (127) may be configured to output etching gases. Examples of etching gases include, but are not limited to, chlorine (Cl ₂ ), hydrogen bromide (HBr), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF ₆ ). The deposition precursor delivery system (129) may be configured to provide a liquid precursor that is vaporized and delivered in vapor form in a deposition process, such as an ALD process. Thus, the deposition precursor may be introduced into the plasma chamber (132) and adsorbed on the surface of the substrate (112). The adsorbed precursor may be converted using the plasma to form an adsorption-limited amount of the film. In some embodiments, the deposition precursor comprises an amino-silane precursor. An exemplary deposition precursor may have a chemical composition of the following formula: C _x H _y N _z O _a Si _b .

A vacuum pump system (130) may be coupled to the plasma chamber (132) and may be used to withdraw process gases from the plasma chamber (132) and maintain a specified pressure within the plasma chamber (132). A valve (126) may be positioned between the exhaust (124) and the vacuum pump system (130) to control the amount of vacuum applied to the plasma chamber (132). In some implementations, the vacuum pump system (130) may include a one-stage or two-stage mechanical dry pump and/or a turbomolecular pump. In some implementations, the vacuum pump system (130) may be activated whenever a deposition operation or an etching operation is completed to purge the plasma chamber (132). An example of a vacuum pump system (130) is further described in FIG. 1B. A vacuum pump system (130) may be fluidly connected to the plasma chamber (132) and may serve to remove etching gases, deposition precursors, and reaction byproducts from the plasma chamber (132).

The processing device (100) may be coupled to facilities (not shown) when installed within a clean room or manufacturing facility. The facilities include piping that provides processing gases, vacuum, temperature control, and particle control of the atmosphere. These facilities may be coupled to the processing device (100) when installed within the target manufacturing facility. Additionally, the processing device (100) may be coupled to a transfer chamber that uses robotics to transfer substrates into and out of the plasma chamber (132).

The processing device (100) may further include a system controller (108). The system controller (108) (which may include one or more physical or logical controllers) controls some or all operations of the processing device (100). The system controller (108) may include one or more memory devices and one or more processors. The processor may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a computer, analog input/output connections and/or digital input/output connections, stepper motor controller boards, and other similar components. Instructions for implementing appropriate control operations may be executed on the processor. These instructions may be stored on memory devices associated with the system controller (108), or they may be provided over a network. In certain embodiments, the system controller (108) executes system control software.

The system control software may include instructions for controlling the magnitude and/or application timing of any one or more of the following chamber operating conditions: mixture and/or composition of gases, chamber pressure, chamber temperature, wafer/wafer support temperature, bias applied to the substrate (which may be zero in various implementations), frequency and power applied to the coils or other plasma generating components, substrate position, substrate translation speed, and other parameters of a particular process performed by the tool. The system control software may further control heating operations, purge operations, and cleaning operations via the vacuum pump system (130). The system control software may be configured in any suitable manner. For example, various process tool component subroutines or control objects may be written to control the operations of the process tool components necessary to perform the various process tool processes. The system control software may be coded in any suitable computer readable programming language.

In some embodiments, the system control software includes IOC (Input/Output Control) sequencing instructions for controlling the various parameters described above. For example, each phase of the semiconductor manufacturing process may include one or more instructions for execution by the system controller (108). Instructions for setting process conditions for a phase may be included in a corresponding recipe phase, for example. In some implementations, the recipe phases may be sequentially arranged such that the steps of the doping process are executed in a particular order for that process phase. For example, a recipe may be configured to perform etch operations and may include one or more cycles of an ALD process performed between each of the etch operations. A recipe may be configured to perform purge operations and/or clean operations between the etch operations and one or more cycles of the ALD process.

In some implementations, the system controller (108) is configured with instructions to perform one or more of the following operations: performing an etching operation on a substrate (112) within a plasma chamber (132) using one or more etching gases from an etching gas delivery system (127); and performing a deposition operation on a substrate (112) within a plasma chamber (132) using one or more deposition precursors from a deposition precursor delivery system (129). The system controller (108) may further be configured with instructions to perform the following operations: exhausting the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the plasma chamber (132) using a vacuum pump system (130). The system controller (108) may further be configured with instructions to perform the following operations: heating surfaces of a pump of the vacuum pump system (130) to an elevated temperature. The system controller (108) may further be configured with instructions to perform the following: purge one or more etching gases or one or more deposition precursors from the vacuum pump system (130) according to a purge time determined by Residual Gas Analysis (RGA) or Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) gas analysis. The system controller (108) may further be configured with instructions to perform the following: perform a cleaning operation using reactive gases flowing through the vacuum pump system (130) before or after the etching operation.

Other computer software and/or programs may also be employed in some embodiments. Examples of programs or sections of programs for this purpose include a substrate positioning program, a process gas composition control program, a pressure control program, a heater control program, and an RF power supply control program.

In some cases, the system controller (108) controls the gas concentration, the substrate movement, and/or the power supplied to the coil (134) and/or the substrate support (116). The system controller (108) may control the gas concentration, for example, by opening and closing associated valves to produce one or more inlet gas streams providing the desired reactant(s) at the appropriate concentration(s). The substrate movement may be controlled, for example, by directing a substrate positioning system to move as desired. The power supplied to the coil (134) and/or the substrate support (116) may be controlled to provide particular RF power levels. If a grid is used, the RF powers may be adjusted by the system controller (108) to produce an electron-ion plasma in the upper portion of the plasma chamber (132) and an ion-ion plasma in the lower portion of the plasma chamber (132). Additionally, the system controller (108) may be configured to supply power to the substrate support (116) under conditions such that electron-ion plasma is not formed in the lower portion of the plasma chamber (132).

The system controller (108) may control these and other aspects based on sensor output (e.g., when power, potential, pressure, gas levels, etc. reach certain thresholds), timing of actions (e.g., opening valves at certain times in a process, purge, etc.), or based on instructions received from a user.

In some implementations, the system controller (108) is part of a system, which may be part of the examples described above. These systems may include semiconductor processing equipment, including a processing tool or tools, a chamber or chambers, a platform or platforms for processing, and/or specific processing components (wafer pedestals, gas flow systems, etc.). These systems may be integrated with electronics for controlling their operation prior to, during, and after processing of semiconductor wafers or substrates. The electronics may be referred to as a "controller" that may control various components or sub-portions of the system or systems. Depending on the processing requirements and/or the type of system, the system controller (108) may be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, including delivery of etching gases and deposition precursors into the plasma chamber (132), temperature settings (e.g., heating and/or cooling), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, RF generator settings, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, position and motion settings, transfers of substrates into and out of the tool, purging of gases and byproducts from the plasma chamber (132), purging of gases and byproducts from the vacuum pump system (130), heating of surfaces of components of the vacuum pump system (130), and cleaning of the vacuum pump system (130) with reactant gases.

Generally speaking, the system controller (108) may be defined as an electronic device having various integrated circuits, logic, memory, and/or software that receive instructions, issue instructions, control operations, enable cleaning operations, enable endpoint measurements, and the like. The integrated circuits may include chips in the form of firmware that store program instructions, chips defined as digital signal processors (DSPs), chips defined as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and/or one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers that execute program instructions (e.g., software). The program instructions may be instructions that are communicated to the system controller (108) or to the system in the form of various individual settings (or program files) that define operational parameters for executing a particular process on or for a semiconductor substrate. In some embodiments, the operating parameters may be part of a recipe defined by process engineers to accomplish one or more processing steps during the fabrication of dies of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and/or substrates.

In some implementations, the system controller (108) may be coupled to or part of a computer that is integrated into the system, coupled to the system, otherwise networked to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, the system controller (108) may be all or part of a fab host computer system that may allow remote access to substrate processing, or may be in the “cloud.” The computer may enable remote access to the system to monitor the current progress of manufacturing operations, examine the history of past manufacturing operations, examine trends or performance metrics from multiple manufacturing operations, change parameters of current processing, set processing steps to follow current processing, or initiate a new process. In some examples, a remote computer (e.g., a server) may provide process recipes to the system over a network, which may include a local network or the Internet. The remote computer may include a user interface that enables entry or programming of parameters and/or settings that are subsequently transmitted to the system from the remote computer. In some examples, the system controller (108) receives instructions in the form of data specifying parameters for each of the process steps to be performed during one or more operations. It should be appreciated that the parameters may be specific to the type of tool that the system controller (108) is configured to control or interface with and the type of process to be performed. Thus, as described above, the system controller (108) may be distributed by including one or more individual controllers that are networked and operate together toward a common purpose, such as the processes and controls described herein. An example of a distributed system controller (108) for such purposes would be one or more integrated circuits on a chamber that communicate with one or more remotely located integrated circuits (e.g., at the platform level or as part of a remote computer) that are combined to control the process on the chamber.

As described above, depending on the process step or steps to be performed by the tool, the system controller (108) may communicate with one or more of: other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, cluster tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, neighboring tools, tools located throughout the factory, a main computer, another system controller (108), or tools used in material transport to move containers of substrates from/to tool locations and/or load ports within the semiconductor fabrication plant.

Vacuum pump system

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump used in series with a turbomolecular pump according to some implementations. However, it will be appreciated that the vacuum pump system (130) of the present disclosure may include different pump(s) and pump components than those illustrated in FIG. 1B. The vacuum pump system (130) is in fluid communication with a processing chamber (132), such as a plasma chamber, as described above. The vacuum pump system (130) may control a chamber pressure within the processing chamber (132). The vacuum pump system (130) may remove byproducts, unreacted deposition precursors, and unreacted etching gases from the processing chamber (132). The vacuum pump system (130) may include a plurality of pumps operating over varying pressure ranges. As illustrated in FIG. 1b, the vacuum pump system (130) includes a turbomolecular pump (140) and a roughing pump (150), wherein the roughing pump (150) is configured to generate a “rough” vacuum and the turbomolecular pump (140) is configured to generate a very high vacuum. For example, the turbomolecular pump (140) may be configured to generate a vacuum pressure within the processing chamber (132) in a very high range (e.g., from about 1 mTorr to about 1 Torr) and the roughing pump (150) may be configured to generate a relatively low range (e.g., from about 1 Torr to atmospheric) vacuum pressure within the chamber (132). The roughing pump (150) may also be referred to as a “backing pump” or a “primary pump.” For example, the roughing pump (150) may comprise a one-stage or two-stage mechanical drying pump.

The roughing pump (150) may be located downstream from the turbomolecular pump (140). In some implementations, a booster pump (160) is optionally provided between the turbomolecular pump (140) and the roughing pump (150), and the booster pump (160) is capable of generating a vacuum pressure that is intermediate in range between the turbomolecular pump (140) and the roughing pump (150). In some implementations, the booster pump (160) may be considered part of the roughing pump (150) of the vacuum pump system (130). In some implementations, the booster pump (160) may be considered separate from the roughing pump system. In some implementations, the booster pump (160) includes a blower, such as a Roots-type blower. A roughing pump (150) and/or a booster pump (160) may be connected in series with the turbomolecular pump (140) to operate the chamber pressure over a large vacuum pressure range.

A first valve (152) may be disposed between the turbomolecular pump (140) and the roughing pump (150). The first valve (152) may be controlled to allow process gases to exhaust from the turbomolecular pump (140) to the roughing pump (150). A second valve (154) may be disposed between an exhaust port (162) connected to the processing chamber (132) and the roughing pump (150). The second valve (154) may be controlled to allow process gases to exhaust through the exhaust port (162) to a foreline (164). The foreline (164) connects the roughing pump (150) to the exhaust port (162).

Separate pumps or multi-inlet pumps

The etching gases and deposition precursors may be prevented from mixing within the pumps by diverting the etching gases and deposition precursors to separate pumps. As a result, deposition byproducts are prevented or otherwise limited from accumulating in any single pump. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system may be designed using at least two separate roughing pumps. In some embodiments, each of the at least two roughing pumps may include booster pumps or blowers. In some embodiments, each of the at least two roughing pumps may include rotor components, such as rotary vanes. As described below, the vacuum pump system may operate according to a "full divert" scheme or a "bypass divert" scheme.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a "fully directional" vacuum pump system (230a) having two separate pumps according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the two separate pumps are two separate roughing pumps. A processing chamber (212), such as the processing chamber described above in FIGS. 1A and 1B, may exhaust etching gases and deposition precursors through an exhaust port. The etching gases and deposition precursors may travel through a conduit, such as a foreline (214). A valve (224) may be positioned between the foreline (214) and the two separate pumps. The valve (224) acts as a switchable valve that switches to direct the etching gases through the first roughing pump (220a) when the processing chamber (212) performs etching operations. The valve (224) switches to direct the deposition precursors through the second roughing pump (220b) when the processing chamber (212) performs deposition operations. Separating the flow of the etching gases and the deposition precursors between the separate roughing pumps prevents deposition product buildup resulting from mixing the etching gases and the deposition gases. In some embodiments, the etching gases comprise hydrogen bromide and the deposition precursors comprise an amino-silane precursor. In some embodiments, the valve (224) may be switched to direct the etching gases through the first roughing pump (220a) when the etching gas comprises hydrogen bromide. The first roughing pump (220a) and the second roughing pump (220b) are located downstream from the foreline (214). A purge line (216) may be connected to and positioned downstream from the first roughing pump (220a) and the second roughing pump (220b) to remove etching gases and deposition precursors from the vacuum pump system (230a). A purge operation may occur between the etching operation and the deposition operation, and the purge time may be sufficient to completely remove the etching gases and deposition precursors from the foreline (214). Techniques for determining sufficient purge time are described below.

The incoming etching gas and the incoming deposition gas may enter the processing chamber (212) through different gas lines. The etching gas may be provided from an etching gas delivery source, and the deposition gas may be provided from a deposition precursor delivery source. In some implementations, some of the deposition gas from the deposition precursor delivery source may be diverted by the divert line (218) and exhausted directly to the second roughing pump (220b). The diverted deposition gas does not enter the processing chamber (212). The divert line (218) may be fluidly coupled to the deposition precursor delivery system and may be configured to direct deposition precursors that are not used in the deposition cycle to the second roughing pump (220b). The deposition cycle may be an ALD cycle. Typically, ALD is a deposition technique that uses surface-self-limited deposition reactions to deposit films on a layer-by-layer basis. Each ALD cycle includes a series of dosing and conversion phases. In some embodiments, an ALD cycle includes a series of dosing, purge, conversion, and purge phases. The dosing phase involves delivering and adsorbing a precursor material onto a substrate surface within a processing chamber, and the conversion phase involves converting the adsorbed precursor material into an adsorption-limited amount of deposited material (e.g., a passivation material). The conversion phase typically involves delivering a reactant species, such as an oxidizing species (e.g., O ₂ ), to convert the adsorbed precursor material. During the conversion phase of an ALD cycle, the deposition gas may continue to flow from the deposition precursor delivery source. However, some of the deposition gas flowing from the deposition precursor delivery source may be diverted during the conversion phases of the ALD cycle. These diverted deposition gases will not mix with the etching gases in the processing chamber or any roughing pumps.

FIG. 2b is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a "bypass diversion" vacuum pump system (230b) having two separate pumps according to some implementations. A processing chamber (232), such as the processing chamber described above in FIGS. 1a and 1b, may exhaust etching gases and deposition precursors through an exhaust port. The etching gases and deposition precursors may travel through a conduit, such as a foreline (234). Instead of incorporating a valve to switch between the etching gases and deposition precursors, the etching gases and deposition precursors flow through a first roughing pump (240a). However, some of the deposition gas may be diverted to a second roughing pump (240b) by a diversion line (238). This deposition gas does not participate in the deposition operations occurring in the processing chamber (232). Specifically, during the conversion phase of the ALD cycle, the deposition gases are diverted to the second roughing pump (240b) by the diversion line. That is, the deposition precursors that are not used in the ALD cycle flow from the deposition precursor delivery system and directly pass through the second roughing pump (240b) without entering the processing chamber (232). Accordingly, during the dosing phase of the ALD cycle, the deposition precursors pass through the first roughing pump (240a) and are mixed with the etching gases, while during the conversion phase of the ALD cycle, the deposition precursors pass through the second roughing pump (240b) and are not mixed with the etching gases. Although some of the deposition gases may be mixed with the etching gases within the first roughing pump (240a), the amount of mixing is significantly reduced such that accumulation of deposition byproducts is significantly less. Additionally, the second roughing pump (240b) is not in fluid communication with the processing chamber (232), and thus the second roughing pump (240b) may be shared between multiple modules/devices. Multiple diverting lines from other modules/devices (not shown) may divert unused deposition precursors in the ALD cycle through the second roughing pump (240b).

FIG. 2c is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a "multi-inlet" vacuum pump system (230c) that operates in different stages according to some implementation examples. Instead of having separate pumps for receiving etching gas and deposition gas, the vacuum pump system (230c) can have a pump having multiple inlets. Process gases exhausted from the processing chamber may include etching gas and deposition gas. One of the multiple inlets may be opened to receive process gases from the processing chamber, depending on the operating pressure of the pump. For example, a first inlet (252) may be opened to receive process gases in a low-pressure stage (254), and a second inlet (262) may be opened to receive process gases in a high-pressure stage (264). In FIG. 2c, the pump may include a roughing pump (not shown). The roughing pump may or may not include a booster pump (or blower). When the roughing pump is operating in the low-pressure range, a first exhaust port (256) coupled to the first inlet (252) may be opened to exhaust process gases from the processing chamber (not shown). When the roughing pump is operating in the high-pressure range, a second exhaust port (266) coupled to the second inlet (262) may be opened to exhaust process gases from the processing chamber. In some implementations, the high-pressure range is from about 1 Torr to about 10 Torr or from about 0.5 Torr to about 5 Torr, and the low-pressure range is from about 0.5 Torr to about 3 Torr or from about 0.1 Torr to about 1 Torr. In some embodiments, the deposition gases are generally exhausted from the processing chamber during the high-pressure ranges, and the etching gases are generally exhausted from the processing chamber during the low-pressure ranges. In particular, ALD processes tend to operate in high-pressure ranges.

Deposition byproduct build-up within the roughing pump may be affected by pressure and/or temperature. Components operating in the low-pressure stage (254) may be unheated, and components operating in the high-pressure stage (264) may be heated. To prevent deposition byproduct build-up in the high-pressure stage (264), components of the pump may be heated to an elevated temperature sufficient to prevent byproduct build-up. In some embodiments, the higher the pressure, the higher the temperature must be to prevent byproduct build-up. In some embodiments, the elevated temperature is greater than about 160 °C, about 80 °C to about 500 °C, about 100 °C to about 400 °C, about 120 °C to about 300 °C, or about 150 °C to about 250 °C. Without being limited by any theory, mixing between the deposition precursors and etching gases may occur more during the higher pressure stages of the pump, and mixing between the deposition precursors and etching gases may occur less during the lower pressure stages of the pump. Accordingly, heating the components of the pump to an elevated temperature during the higher pressure stages may prevent or minimize deposition byproduct buildup. Aspects of the heated pump components within the pump are described in more detail below.

In some embodiments, the pump components operating in the low pressure stage (254) may be susceptible to deposition by-product build-up. This is in addition to the pump components operating in the high pressure stage (264). In some embodiments, the blower components may be separate from the rotor components of the vacuum pump system (230c). The blower components may be part of the booster pump of the roughing pump. In some embodiments, the blower components may be operated during the low pressure stage (254) of the roughing pump, and the rotor components may be operated during the high pressure stage (264) of the roughing pump. In some embodiments, the blower components and the rotor components may be heated to an elevated temperature sufficient to prevent deposition by-product build-up. Such components may be illustrated in FIG. 3.

Surface coatings

A vacuum pump system including a roughing pump and its components may be coated with one or more materials to limit surface reactions that would otherwise cause deposition byproduct buildup in the vacuum pump system. The various pump components of the pump may include, but are not limited to, rotor components, stator components, inlets, bearings, shafts, and transmission gears. Additional pump components may further include booster pumps and blowers, which may be provided as separate units or integrated with the pump. The rotor components may include, for example, rotating vanes positioned on contra-rotating shafts. The transmission gears transmit torque to the shafts and cause the rotating vanes to rotate in opposite directions and act in an intermesh manner. The stator components may include, for example, a housing for enclosing the rotor components. One or more inlets may receive etching gases and deposition precursors discharged from the processing chamber, and one or more inlets may be coupled to stator components. One or more inlets may be connected to passages leading to rotor components. Bearings may support various components of the pump, such as shafts.

In some embodiments, the pump components of the pump of the vacuum pump system are made of a metallic material, such as iron. For example, the pump components may be made of cast iron. However, pump components made of cast iron or other metallic materials may be susceptible to corrosion and/or deposition by-product build-up. In some implementations, the surfaces of the pump components may be coated with one or more materials that are resistant to corrosion and/or deposition by-product build-up. Thus, the surface coating on the surfaces of the pump components may eliminate or at least reduce surface reactions that would otherwise cause deposition by-product build-up.

Exemplary materials for the surface coatings may include, but are not limited to, plated nickel, plated cobalt, titanium nitride (TiN), Inconel, Hastelloy, ceramic materials, fluoropolymers, and combinations thereof. These materials may be corrosion resistant materials. At least the surfaces of the inlet and rotor components of the pump may be coated with the surface coating, thereby protecting the inlet and rotor components of the pump from degradation from deposition byproduct build-up. Other surfaces of the pump components, including bearings, shafts, etc., may also be coated with the surface coating.

In some embodiments, the pump components of the pump of the vacuum pump system are made of a ceramic material, such as aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ). Instead of being coated with a metallic material, the pump components may be made of a material that is resistant to corrosion and/or deposition by-product build-up. Thus, these pump components may eliminate or at least reduce surface reactions that would otherwise cause deposition by-product build-up.

In some embodiments, the pump components may be heated to further eliminate or reduce surface reactions that cause deposition by-product build-up. Some pump components may be heated to an elevated temperature, such as at least about 160 °C, to prevent or otherwise reduce deposition by-product build-up. For example, one or more shafts may be connected to and support one or more rotor components, and each of the shafts may be connected to a heat source to heat surfaces of the one or more rotor components. Examples of heat sources may include, but are not limited to, wires, heat lamps, and hot fluids.

It will be appreciated that embodiments using the materials described above to limit surface reactions may be combined with one or more of the embodiments previously mentioned for preventing deposition by-product build-up. It will also be appreciated that embodiments using the materials described above to limit surface reactions may be combined with one or more of the embodiments discussed below for preventing deposition by-product build-up.

Pump heating

Challenges exist in dimensionally heating all surfaces of the various pump components to a sufficiently high temperature to prevent deposition by-product build-up. Improvements in the thermal design of pumps, such as roughing pumps, can maintain the surfaces of the pump components at a sufficiently high temperature to prevent deposition by-product build-up. Aspects of the present disclosure provide a method of using a vacuum pump system to evacuate etching gases and deposition precursors and to heat surfaces of the pump components of the vacuum pump system to an elevated temperature. The elevated temperature is sufficiently high to prevent deposition by-product build-up as a result of reactions between the etching gases and the deposition precursors. For example, the elevated temperature may be greater than about 160° C., about 80° C. to about 500° C., about 100° C. to about 400° C., about 120° C. to about 300° C., or about 150° C. to about 250° C. The elevated temperature may be maintained while evacuating the etching gases and deposition precursors. The etching gases may include hydrogen bromide and the deposition precursors may include an amino-silane precursor.

In some embodiments, surfaces of the pump components of the pump may be heated by circulating a high temperature fluid or a heated purge gas through the pump. A reservoir of the high temperature fluid or heated purge gas may be provided external to the vacuum pump system, and the vacuum pump system may draw from the reservoir to heat the pump components. In some embodiments, heating the surfaces of the pump components comprises heating one or more shafts connected to and supporting one or more rotor components within the pump. In some embodiments, each of the shafts may include a channel for receiving a heat source, the heat source comprising wires, a heat lamp, a high temperature fluid, or combinations thereof. The channel allows thermal energy to be conducted through the shaft and transferred to surrounding surfaces by radiation and/or conduction. As a result, surfaces of one or more rotor components may be heated. Surfaces of one or more of the rotor components are heated to a temperature of at least about 160 °C, about 80 °C to about 500 °C, about 100 °C to about 400 °C, about 120 °C to about 300 °C, or about 150 °C to about 250 °C.

FIG. 3 illustrates examples of rotor components of a vacuum pump system (300) according to some implementation examples. Deposition precursors and etching gases are exhausted from a processing chamber into a vacuum pump system (300) having a stator component (310) surrounding a first rotor component (322) and a second rotor component (324). The deposition precursors and etching gases pass through passages (312) within the stator component (310). The first rotor component (322) and the second rotor component (324) may rotate in opposite directions to push the gases through the vacuum pump system (300). A first shaft (332) may be connected to the first rotor component (322) and may support the first rotor component, and a second shaft (334) may be connected to the second rotor component (324) and may support the second rotor component. In some embodiments, each of the shafts (332, 334) may be hollow, or may provide channels or openings through which wires, heat lamps, high temperature fluids, or other heat sources may pass. In some embodiments, each of the shafts (332, 334) may include an outer insulating material and an inner conductive material. The shafts (332, 334) may be configured to rotate in counter-rotating directions.

It will be appreciated that embodiments utilizing pump heating may be combined with one or more of the embodiments described above for preventing deposition by-product build-up, including embodiments involving separate pumps, separate inlets, and surface coatings. It will also be appreciated that embodiments utilizing pump heating may be combined with one or more of the embodiments described below for preventing deposition by-product build-up.

Pump purge

Purge operations may be performed between the deposition and etch operations to more thoroughly purge the deposition precursors, etch gases, and/or deposition byproducts from the vacuum pump system. The duration of the purge operations may be determined to be sufficiently long such that the deposition precursors, etch gases, and deposition byproducts are not detected in the vacuum pump system. In this manner, the deposition precursors and etch gases are not provided with an opportunity to mix together and cause deposition byproduct buildup. These determinations may be made using one or more sensors in the vacuum pump system. For example, the purge times may be measured using residual gas analysis (RGA), FTIR gas analysis, or other suitable gas analysis to purge the deposition precursors, etch gases, and deposition byproducts from the vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the etch gases comprise hydrogen bromide and the deposition precursors comprise an amino-silane precursor.

A method of purging a pump, such as a roughing pump, may include performing purge operations between an etching operation and a deposition operation in a processing chamber. The method may include performing an etching operation on a wafer in the processing chamber, wherein one or more etching gases are exhausted through a pump in fluid communication with the processing chamber, performing the etching operation, and purging the one or more etching gases from the pump for a first predetermined duration. The method may further include performing a deposition operation on a wafer in the processing chamber, wherein one or more deposition precursors are exhausted through the pump, performing the deposition operation, and purging the one or more deposition precursors from the pump for a second predetermined duration. In some embodiments, the first predetermined duration and the second predetermined duration may be determined by RGA, FTIR gas analysis, or other suitable gas analysis. For example, RGA, FTIR gas analysis, or other suitable gas analysis may use sensors to determine when etching gases and/or deposition precursors are no longer present in the gas lines of the vacuum pump system, thereby acting as an endpoint detection system. Accordingly, the gas analysis can determine suitable purge times to remove deposition precursors or etching gases from the vacuum pump system.

A method for determining purge times for purging a pump can include performing purge operations between etching operations and deposition operations within a processing chamber and measuring purge times during the purge operations. The method can include performing an etching operation on a wafer within the processing chamber, wherein one or more etching gases are exhausted through a pump in fluid communication with the processing chamber, performing the etching operation, purging the one or more etching gases from the pump, and measuring a first purge time for purging the one or more etching gases. The method can further include performing a deposition operation on a wafer within the processing chamber, wherein one or more deposition precursors are exhausted through a pump, purging the one or more deposition precursors from the pump, and measuring a second purge time for purging the one or more deposition precursors. The purge times can be measured by RGA, FTIR gas analysis, or other suitable gas analysis. Future purge operations performed within the processing chamber may utilize purge times measured by gas analysis to ensure that the purge times are long enough to completely or at least substantially purge the deposition precursors and etch precursors from the vacuum pump system.

Longer purge times and more accurately measured purge times may also prevent unwanted mixing of deposition precursors and etching gases in a vacuum pump system. Embodiments utilizing longer purge times and more accurately measured purge times may be combined with one or more of the embodiments described above to prevent deposition byproduct buildup, including embodiments involving separate pumps, separate inlets, surface coatings, and pump heating. For example, RGA or FTIR gas analysis may be used to determine when to switch a valve to divert etching gases through a first roughing pump and when to switch a valve to divert deposition precursors through a second roughing pump. It will be appreciated that embodiments utilizing longer purge times and more accurately measured purge times may be combined with one or more of the embodiments described below to prevent deposition byproduct buildup.

Pump Cleaning

The cleaning operations may be performed between deposition and etch operations, after completion of a deposition or etch operation, or after processing a particular number of wafers within the processing chamber. The cleaning operations may be performed to clean the vacuum pump system to prevent mixing of the deposition precursors and the etching gases, or to remove deposition byproducts from the vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the deposition precursors may include an amino-silane precursor, and the etching gases may include hydrogen bromide. Performing the cleaning operations comprises flowing reactive gases through the vacuum pump system, wherein the vacuum pump system comprises one or more pumps in fluid communication with the processing chamber. The one or more pumps may comprise a roughing pump. In some embodiments, the one or more pumps may further comprise a booster pump and/or a turbomolecular pump. In some embodiments, the reactive gases flow through the processing chamber and through one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the reactive gases include radicals and/or ions generated in-situ within the processing chamber, generated from a remote plasma source, or generated by a plasma source installed in the foreline connected to one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system.

The cleaning operations typically involve cleaning chemistries that are effective to remove deposition precursors, etching gases, and deposition byproducts. In some embodiments, the cleaning operation may be part of a Waferless Automated Clean (WAC) operation, although it will be appreciated that the cleaning operation may be performed with or without the wafer present within the processing chamber. The cleaning chemistries may include reactive gases, such as fluorine-containing species, chlorine-containing species, bromine-containing species, iodine-containing species, oxygen-containing species, or combinations thereof.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary method of a cleaning process for preventing deposition byproduct build-up in a vacuum pump system according to some implementation examples. The cleaning process (400) as illustrated in FIG. 4 may be performed with fewer, additional, or different operations.

At block 410 of the cleaning process (400), one or more deposition operations are performed in the processing chamber. The one or more deposition operations may use one or more deposition precursors to deposit a material on the wafer. In some embodiments, the one or more deposition operations may use one or more deposition precursors of an ALD cycle. The one or more deposition precursors may include an amino-silane precursor. The one or more deposition precursors may be exhausted by one or more pumps of a vacuum pump system, the one or more pumps being in fluid communication with the processing chamber. The one or more pumps may include a roughing pump.

At block 420 of the cleaning process (400), one or more etching operations are performed in the processing chamber. The one or more etching operations may utilize one or more etching gases to etch material from the wafer. The one or more etching gases may include hydrogen bromide. The one or more etching gases may be exhausted by one or more pumps of a vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the one or more etching operations may be performed prior to the cleaning operation at block 430, as illustrated in FIG. 4 . Alternatively, the one or more etching operations may be performed after the cleaning operation at block 430, as illustrated in block 440 of FIG. 4 . That is, the cleaning operation may be performed between the deposition operation and the etching operation when processing the wafer, or may be performed after the deposition operation and the etching operation are completed when processing the wafer.

At block 430, a cleaning operation is performed using reactive gases flowing through the vacuum pump system, the vacuum pump system being in fluid communication with the processing chamber. In some embodiments, the one or more deposition operations at block 410, the one or more etch operations at block 420 or block 440, and the cleaning operation at block 430 may be performed using a wafer within the processing chamber. In some embodiments, the cleaning operation at block 430 may be performed without a wafer within the processing chamber.

In some embodiments, the reactive gases may include a fluorine-containing species, such as nitrogen trifluoride (NF ₃ ), carbon tetrafluoride (CF ₄ ), xenon difluoride (XeF ₂ ), sulfur hexafluoride (SF ₆ ), and chlorine trifluoride (ClF ₃ ). In some embodiments, the reactive gases may include an oxygen-containing species, such as oxygen (O ₂ ) and ozone (O ₃ ). In some embodiments, the reactive gases may include a chlorine-containing species, such as chlorine (Cl ₂ ). The reactive gases may remove deposition precursors or etch precursors from the vacuum pump system, or may remove deposition byproducts formed in the vacuum pump system.

In some embodiments, the reactive gases may include radicals and/or ions of fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, or combinations thereof. The radicals and/or ions of fluorine may include F ^* and _F2 ⁺ , the radicals and/or ions of chlorine may include Cl ^* , ^Cl- , and Cl ⁺ , and the radicals and/or ions of oxygen may include O ^* and _O2- . In general, the radicals of fluorine, chlorine, and oxygen have a higher probability of traveling farther through one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system without recombining than the ions of fluorine, chlorine, and oxygen. The reactive gases may remove deposition precursors or etch precursors from the vacuum pump system, or may remove deposition byproducts formed in the vacuum pump system.

In some implementations of the cleaning process (400), the cleaning process (400) further includes generating reactive gases, wherein the reactive gases include plasma-activated species of fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, or combinations thereof. The plasma-activated species may include radicals and/or ions of fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, or combinations thereof, as described above. Various plasma sources may be used to generate the plasma-activated species to perform the cleaning operation at block 430. In some embodiments, the plasma-activated species may be generated in situ within the processing chamber by a plasma reaction. For example, a fluorine-containing gas, a chlorine-containing gas, an oxygen-containing gas, or combinations/sequences thereof may be introduced into the processing chamber, and the plasma may be ignited to form a plasma-activated species of the fluorine-containing gas, the chlorine-containing gas, the oxygen-containing gas, or combinations/sequences thereof. The plasma-activated species may be flowed from the processing chamber and through one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system to prevent deposition byproduct buildup. In some embodiments, the plasma-activated species may be generated in a plasma source located in the foreline, the foreline providing an interconnection between the one or more pumps and the processing chamber. In this manner, the plasma-activated species may be generated adjacent to the one or more pumps to limit the possibility of recombination prior to reaching the one or more pumps. For example, a Litmas™ plasma source may be installed in the foreline adjacent to one or more pumps to generate plasma-activated species of a gas containing fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, or combinations/sequences thereof. In some embodiments, the plasma-activated species may be generated in a remote plasma source located outside the foreline. The remote plasma source may be located upstream of the foreline. The plasma-activated species may be generated in the remote plasma source and injected into the foreline to pass through the one or more pumps.

In some implementations of the cleaning process (400), ozone (O ₃ ) may be flowed to one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system during the cleaning operation at block 430. Ozone generally has a longer lifetime than ions and/or radicals of oxygen. Therefore, ozone has a greater chance of reaching one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system without recombining. In some implementations, the ozone may be provided within the processing chamber or may be exhausted from the vacuum pump system. In some implementations, the ozone may be generated by a separate unit that introduces ozone into a foreline leading to the one or more pumps. For example, such a separate unit for generating ozone may be installed in the foreline or in an area between the processing chamber and the foreline. Ozone provided by the separate unit or provided within the processing chamber may have a more effective chance of reaching one or more pumps than plasma-activated species of oxygen provided by a remote plasma source or provided in-situ within the processing chamber.

Ozone flowing to one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system may react with a species in the pumping equipment to form an oxidized product. For example, the ozone may deliver oxidizing radicals that form bromine oxide (BrO), silicon dioxide (SiO ₂ ), chlorine oxide (ClO), or combinations thereof. After the ozone flows to one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system, a fluorine-containing species may flow to one or more pumps. The fluorine-containing species may comprise radicals and/or ions of fluorine, and the fluorine-containing species may originate from the processing chamber or from a remote plasma source. The oxidized products may be etched by the fluorine-containing species. Without being limited by any theory, the fluorine-containing species may cause the oxidized products to become volatile. The volatile products may be reduced.

In some implementations, the cleaning operation at block 430 includes flowing a fluorine-containing species through a vacuum pump system to remove or prevent deposition byproduct buildup. The ozone treatment as a cleaning operation may be performed concurrently with the wafer processing or at a time interval after the wafer processing. In one example, the ozone treatment may be performed concurrently with performing one or more deposition operations at block 410 or performing one or more etch operations at block 420. For example, the ozone may be flowed concurrently with the flow of etching gases within the processing chamber. In another example, the ozone treatment may be performed between one or more deposition operations at block 410 and one or more etch operations at block 420. This may cause the deposition precursors to be immediately oxidized. In another example, the ozone treatment may be performed at a time interval after one or more deposition operations at block 410 and one or more etch operations at block 420.

The cleaning chemistries used in the cleaning operations may also prevent deposition byproduct build-up in the vacuum pump system. Embodiments utilizing such cleaning chemistries may be combined with one or more of the embodiments described above to prevent deposition byproduct build-up, including embodiments involving separate pumps, separate inlets, surface coatings, pump heating, and longer and more precisely measured purge times. For example, the reactive gases may be flowed through one or more pumps in the cleaning operation simultaneously with heating the surfaces of the pump components to an elevated temperature, wherein the elevated temperature is greater than about 160 °C, about 80 °C to about 500 °C, about 100 °C to about 400 °C, about 120 °C to about 300 °C, or about 150 °C to about 250 °C.

Gas discharger

The deposition precursors and etching gases may be exhausted from the processing chamber by a roughing pump of the vacuum pump system. The mixing of the deposition precursors and etching gases may result in unwanted deposition in the roughing pump, which may result in damage to the pumping equipment. Specifically, the deposition precursors and etching gases may react with components of the vacuum pump system to form byproducts that may cause failure of the vacuum pump system. Even if a purge gas (e.g., N ₂ ) may be used to vent the roughing pump, unwanted deposition may still occur within the roughing pump, particularly on moving parts of the roughing pump. For example, unwanted deposition may occur in later stages of the roughing pump or at the outlet of the roughing pump.

Without being limited by any theory, high pressure spots may exist at the outlet of the roughing pump, and these high pressure spots are typically close to the later stages of the roughing pump. The exhaust gases are exhausted from the roughing pump and may be exhausted at atmospheric pressures or near atmospheric pressures. As used herein, "near-atmospheric" pressures are pressures that are within 10% of atmospheric pressure (i.e., 760 Torr). As a result of these high pressure spots at the outlet of the roughing pump (e.g., the exhaust port), this may result in a stagnant flow of exhaust gases at the outlet of the roughing pump. This may cause the deposition precursors and etching gases to remain at the outlet of the roughing pump for a relatively long duration. The deposition precursors and etching gases may be mixed and remain long enough to cause undesirable deposition. Moreover, without being limited by any particular theory, higher pressure gases at various stages of the vacuum pump system can significantly increase the rate of reactions. Specifically, higher pressure conditions may accelerate reactions between deposition precursors, such as amino-silanes, and etching gases, such as hydrogen bromide, while lower pressure conditions may slow down reactions between deposition precursors and etching gases.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system (500) including a roughing pump (510) having an outlet (512) in fluid communication with a reduction component (514). The vacuum pump system (500) includes the roughing pump (510). In some implementations, the roughing pump (510) may be coupled with, or may optionally include, an optional booster pump (520). Deposition precursors and etching gases may be exhausted from a processing chamber (not shown) through the roughing pump (510). The roughing pump (510) may include one or more moving parts, and the one or more moving parts may include rotor components. In some implementations, a purge gas (530), such as N ₂ , may be provided to flow through the roughing pump (510) to vent the roughing pump (510) of the deposition precursors and etching gases. The vented deposition precursors and etching gases may exit the roughing pump (510) at an outlet (512) of the roughing pump (510). The outlet (512) of the roughing pump (510) may be a discharge port. In some implementations, the vented deposition precursors and etching gases may be discharged to an abatement component (514) to treat the vented deposition precursors and etching gases. A line (516) comprising piping or tubing may connect the outlet (512) of the roughing pump (510) with the abatement component (514). The vented deposition precursors and etching gases may be exhausted from the outlet (512) of the roughing pump (510) at an exhaust pressure of about 760 Torr. One or more stages of the roughing pump (510) may be at sub-atmospheric pressure (i.e., less than 760 Torr) or low pressures during operation. The line (516) between the abatement component (514) and the roughing pump (510) may be at atmospheric pressure (i.e., about 760 Torr) during operation. Even if additional dilution gas (540) (e.g., N ₂ ) is provided to the outlet (512) of the roughing pump (510), any decrease in pressure will be negligible to efficiently exhaust the gases from the outlet (512) of the roughing pump (510) and prevent unwanted deposition. The dilution gas (540) serves to dilute the exhaust gases, and the line (516) between the roughing pump (510) and the reduction component (514) is under a small vacuum pull, which may be only a few Torr below atmospheric pressure.

As discussed above, high pressure conditions at the outlet (512) of the roughing pump (510) may result in stagnant flow, may cause exhaust gases to remain, and may increase the reaction rate for unwanted byproduct formation. The unwanted byproducts may form on one or more moving components of the roughing pump (510), including any one or more moving components proximate the outlet (512) of the roughing pump (510). This may cause the one or more moving components to stop and lead to failure/damage of the vacuum pump system (500).

In the present disclosure, one or more gas ejectors may be provided at an outlet of a roughing pump through which gases are exhausted. The one or more gas ejectors may be configured to reduce the pressure at the outlet of the roughing pump, and the one or more gas ejectors may be connected in series with the roughing pump and positioned downstream from the roughing pump. The one or more gas ejectors proximate the outlet of the roughing pump serve to reduce the exhaust pressure of the roughing pump. The one or more gas ejectors create a suction line to efficiently exhaust gases exhausted from the outlet of the roughing pump, thereby reducing the exhaust pressure in the roughing pump.

Gas ejectors are pumps that use high-pressure gas(es) to transport and compress other gas(es). Gas ejectors produce a high-velocity jet stream and entrain a low-pressure stream to produce a mixed stream moving at an intermediate velocity. That is, gas ejectors use high-pressure gas to compress and vent a low-pressure gas without the use of moving parts. As used herein, gas ejectors may also be referred to as aspirators, venturi jets, venturi pumps, venturi jet ejectors, jet pumps, jet mixers, jet ejectors, air ejectors, and eductors.

One or more of the gas ejectors of the present disclosure may be venturi pumps that utilize the "venturi effect" to efficiently exhaust gases from a roughing pump and reduce the pressure at the outlet of the roughing pump. The "venturi effect" is a reduction in fluid pressure that occurs when a fluid flows through a restricted portion of a channel. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary venturi pump (600) illustrating a pressure gradient across the length of the venturi pump (600) according to some implementations. An injection gas is introduced as a motive flow at a high velocity and high inlet pressure. The body of the venturi pump (600) includes a converging motive section (610), a diverging discharge section (620), and a venturi gap (630) between the converging motive section (610) and the diverging discharge section (620). The converging section (610) increases the fluid velocity of the high-pressure gas stream. The increase in velocity creates a low-pressure zone that provides suction to draw in the low-pressure gas stream. The low-pressure zone may be provided at a suction port (640) of the venturi pump (600), which is in fluid communication with the converging section (610). The suction port (640) may be connected to a device requiring a vacuum or reduced pressure. The low-pressure gas stream is mixed with the high-pressure gas stream in the converging section (610). The mixed gas stream is conveyed through a venturi gap (630) located downstream from the converging section (610). The venturi gap (630) is a constricted portion of the body of the venturi pump (600) where the mixed gas stream is maintained at a high pressure and high velocity. The mixed gas stream then flows through the divergent discharge section (620) which reduces the velocity and increases the pressure, thereby compressing the mixed gas stream. This causes the venturi pump (600) to discharge the mixed gas stream at a pressure greater than the pressure of the suction port (640).

Typically, gas ejectors or venturi pumps are used in many large-scale industrial applications. In one example, venturi pumps are used in the food industry to convey and move powders, pellets, and bulk solids. In another example, venturi pumps can draw a vacuum for pick-and-place operations. In another example, venturi pumps serve to exhaust steam in the power plant industry. In another example, venturi pumps are used to determine fuel or combustion pressure in jet or rocket engines.

However, one or more venturi pumps of the present disclosure are used in conjunction with a vacuum pump system of a semiconductor processing apparatus to reduce the pressure in the exhaust of the roughing pump and to limit deposition in the roughing pump. The one or more venturi pumps are connected in series with a primary pump or a roughing pump of the vacuum pump system. Examples of vacuum pump systems including one or more venturi pumps are illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B, and 8C. The semiconductor processing apparatus may also include a processing chamber for performing a deposition operation and an etching operation.

Alternatively, a plurality of venturi pumps operate as the primary pump or backing pump of the vacuum pump system. The plurality of venturi pumps may be connected in series and/or in parallel to provide a multi-stage venturi backing pump. The plurality of venturi pumps may be connected to an exhaust of a processing chamber, wherein the processing chamber is configured to perform a deposition operation and an etching operation. The plurality of venturi pumps may serve to exhaust deposition precursors and etching gases from the processing chamber. In some implementations, the plurality of venturi pumps may be configured to bring the processing chamber to a "partial" vacuum or a "rough" vacuum, wherein the processing chamber may be at a pressure between about 1 Torr and atmospheric pressure. Instead of using a roughing pump, the plurality of venturi pumps may perform the same or similar function as a roughing pump, except that there are no moving parts. In some implementations, the number of the plurality of venturi pumps may be from about 2 to about 6. Using multiple venturi pumps as primary pumps in a vacuum pump system can prevent unwanted byproduct formation from deposition precursors and etching gases. An example of a vacuum pump system using multiple venturi pumps as backing pumps or primary pumps for a processing chamber is illustrated in FIG. 9.

In some implementations, the venturi pump may be configured with connectors or components for installation with the pump equipment of the semiconductor processing apparatus. In some implementations, the venturi pump may be between the abatement component/system and the roughing pump, with the venturi pump being located downstream of the roughing pump and upstream of the abatement component/system. FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary venturi pump (700) having components configured to connect to a vacuum pump system according to some implementations. In FIG. 7, a first connector (710) serves to connect the venturi pump (700) to an outlet of a roughing pump (not shown). The first connector (710) receives exhaust gases from the roughing pump, which may include vented deposition precursors and etching gases of the processing apparatus. A second connector (720) serves to receive an inlet gas as a synchronous flow at a high inlet pressure. An inlet gas is provided through the body of the venturi pump (700). The inlet gas is mixed with exhaust gases of the roughing pump received from the first connector (710). In some implementations, the inlet gas comprises an inert gas, such as helium (He), N ₂ , or clean dry air. A third connector (730) provides a connection to an abatement component to process gases exhausted from the venturi pump (700). Such gases may include, for example, inlet gases (e.g., N ₂ ), deposition precursors (e.g., amino-silanes), etching gases (e.g., HBr), purge gases, and reactive gases (e.g., CH ₂ F ₂ , CF ₄ , Cl ₂ , SiCl ₄ , NF ₃ , O ₂ , O ₃ , etc.) that may be used during wafer processing operations and/or cleaning operations. Accordingly, the venturi pump (700) may be connected to a roughing pump of a semiconductor processing device, such as an ALD processing device, and may also have one or more connectors for connection to a facility abatement component/system. Using the venturi pump (700), exhaust gases from the roughing pump are received at a reduced pressure and discharged from the venturi pump (700) at an elevated pressure. The venturi pump (700) serves to efficiently exhaust gases from the moving parts of the roughing pump and prevent deposition within the roughing pump.

FIG. 8A illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system (800a) including a roughing pump (810) modified to be connected in series with a gas ejector according to some implementations. In some implementations, the gas ejector includes one or more venturi pumps (820). The vacuum pump system (800) includes the roughing pump (810). In some implementations, the roughing pump (810) may be coupled with, or may optionally include, a booster pump (840). Deposition precursors and etching gases may be exhausted from the processing chamber through the roughing pump (810). The roughing pump (810) may include one or more moving parts, and the one or more moving parts may include rotor components. In some implementations, a purge gas (830), such as N ₂ , may be provided to flow through the roughing pump (810) and vent the roughing pump (810) of the deposition precursors and etching gases. The vented deposition precursors and etching gases may exit the roughing pump (810) at an outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810). The outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810) may be a discharge port.

One or more venturi pumps (820) may be connected to an outlet (812) or exhaust port of the roughing pump (810). In some implementations, a suction port (822) leading to a low pressure zone of the one or more venturi pumps (820) may be connected to the outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810). The one or more venturi pumps (820) are connected in series with the roughing pump (810) and positioned downstream of the roughing pump (810). The one or more venturi pumps (820) are configured to reduce the pressure at the outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810). Typically, the deposition precursors and etching gases are exhausted from the roughing pump (810) at an exhaust pressure that is about atmospheric pressure or near atmospheric pressure. Using one or more venturi pumps (820), the exhaust pressure at the outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810) is reduced to significantly below atmospheric pressure. For example, the exhaust pressure at the outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810) is less than about 380 Torr, less than about 250 Torr, or less than about 200 Torr. The reduced exhaust pressure may prevent or otherwise limit the formation of deposition byproducts at the outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810). In some implementations, the one or more venturi pumps (820) reduce the overall pressure in the various stages of the roughing pump (810) itself.

Aspects of the venturi pumps described above may also be applied to the venturi pump (820) of FIG. 8a. The vacuum pump system of FIG. 5 may be modified to attach to one or more connectors of the venturi pump of FIG. 7 to provide a modified vacuum pump system (800a) of FIG. 8a. The one or more venturi pumps (820) of FIG. 8a provide a high pressure gas stream that creates a low pressure zone within the suction port (822) to generate an intake flow that draws in the venturi deposition precursors and etching gases. Specifically, an inlet gas flows into the body of each of the venturi pumps (820). In some implementations, the inlet gas comprises helium (He), clean dry air, or an inert gas, such as N ₂ . In some implementations, the inlet gas flows at a pressure of about 40 psig to about 80 psig. In some implementations, the inlet gas flows at room temperature or at an elevated temperature. For example, the inlet gas flows at a temperature of about 20° C. to about 100° C. The inlet gas may entrain and mix with the vented deposition precursors and etching gases. The mixed gases are then efficiently exhausted from the one or more venturi pumps (820) to an abatement component (814) configured to be connected to an outlet (824) of the one or more venturi pumps (820). The abatement component (814) is configured to process the mixed gases including the vented deposition precursors and etching gases. Utilizing the venturi effect described above, the exhaust pressure at the outlet (824) of the one or more venturi pumps (820) may be greater than the exhaust pressure at the outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810), and the exhaust pressure at the outlet (824) of the venturi pump (820) may be at or near atmospheric pressure. For example, the exhaust pressure at the outlet (824) of one or more venturi pumps (820) is greater than or equal to about 525 Torr, greater than or equal to about 600 Torr, greater than or equal to about 700 Torr, or greater than or equal to about 760 Torr.

Other designs or implementations of the vacuum pump system may integrate a gas ejector, such as a venturi pump, into the vacuum pump system. FIG. 8b illustrates a schematic of an exemplary vacuum pump system (800b) including a roughing pump (810) connected in series with a gas ejector according to some implementations. The gas ejector may be a venturi pump (850). The vacuum pump system (800b) includes the roughing pump (810) and optionally a booster pump (840) as described above. In FIG. 8b, the venturi pump (850) includes a body, the body including a converging motive section, a diverging motive section, and a venturi gap between the converging motive section and the diverging motive section. Deposition precursors and etching gases are vented to an outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810), which is connected to an intake port (822) of the venturi pump (850). The vented deposition precursors and etching gases are then drawn from the intake port (822) into the converging section of the venturi pump (850). A high pressure gas stream is introduced into the converging section by injecting an inlet gas. The inlet gas is mixed with the vented deposition precursors and etching gases in the converging section, and the mixed gases flow through the venturi gap and are exhausted in the diverging exhaust section. In some implementations, the venturi pump (850) comprises a corrosion resistant material or is coated with a corrosion resistant material. In this manner, the venturi pump (850) is protected from toxic chemicals associated with the plasma etching process.

FIG. 8c illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system (800c) including a roughing pump (810) connected in series with a plurality of gas evacuators (860a, 860b) according to some implementation examples. The plurality of gas evacuators (860a, 860b) may provide multiple stages of gas evacuators, which may be connected in series or in parallel with one another. The plurality of gas evacuators (860a, 860b) may serve to further reduce the exhaust pressure at the outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810). Additionally, the plurality of gas evacuators (860a, 860b) may serve to further increase the suction flow at the outlet (812) of the roughing pump (810) such that vented deposition precursors and etching gases may be efficiently exhausted from the roughing pump (810).

Integrating one or more gas evacuators or venturi pumps into the backing pump may also prevent deposition byproduct buildup in the vacuum pump system. Embodiments utilizing such gas evacuators may be combined with one or more of the aforementioned embodiments to prevent deposition byproduct buildup, including embodiments involving separate pumps, separate inlets, surface coatings, pump heating, longer and more precisely measured purge times, and cleaning chemistries. In one example, reactive gases, such as plasma-activated species of fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, ozone, or combinations thereof, may flow through the roughing pump in the cleaning operation, and the reactive gases are vented along with remaining deposition precursors and etching gases at the outlet of a primary pump connected to one or more venturi pumps. In another example, the surfaces of the pump components may be heated to an elevated temperature while the pump components vent deposition precursors and etching gases at the outlet of a primary pump connected to one or more venturi pumps.

FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system (900) including a plurality of venturi pumps (920a, 920b, and 920c) operating as a multi-stage venturi backing pump (910) according to some implementation examples. The vacuum pump system (900) includes a multi-stage venturi backing pump (910) replacing a roughing pump. The multi-stage venturi backing pump (910) includes a plurality of venturi pumps (920a, 920b, 920c) connected in series. The multi-stage venturi backing pump (910) functions as a functionally effective roughing pump and is fluidly coupled to a turbomolecular pump (930).

conclusion

In the foregoing description, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. The disclosed embodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known process operations have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the disclosed embodiments. While the disclosed embodiments have been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it will be understood that this is not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the processes, systems, and devices of the present embodiments. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the embodiments are not to be limited to the details given herein.

Claims (40)

processing chamber;
An etching gas delivery system configured to introduce one or more etching gases into the processing chamber;
A deposition precursor delivery system configured to introduce one or more deposition precursors into the processing chamber;
A vacuum pump system in fluid communication with the above processing chamber,
1st roughing pump;
As a second roughing pump, the vacuum pump system is configured to direct the one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump and to direct the one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump;
A turbomolecular pump in fluid communication with one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump;
a foreline in fluid communication with said processing chamber and configured to receive said one or more etching gases and said one or more deposition precursors from said processing chamber; and
a vacuum pump system comprising a valve coupled to the foreline and configured to direct the one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump at a first location and configured to direct the one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump at a second location; and
A device comprising a divert line in fluid communication with the deposition precursor delivery system, the divert line configured to divert deposition precursors not used in a deposition cycle from the deposition precursor delivery system through the second roughing pump. In paragraph 1,
The device wherein the second roughing pump is connected in parallel to the first roughing pump, and the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump are each provided downstream of the foreline. In paragraph 1,
An apparatus comprising a controller configured to perform an operation of performing one or more etching processes using the one or more etching gases within the processing chamber, an operation of exhausting the one or more etching gases from the processing chamber using the vacuum pump system, an operation of performing one or more deposition processes of the deposition cycle using the one or more deposition precursors within the processing chamber, and an operation of exhausting the one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber using the vacuum pump system. In paragraph 1,
A device wherein said one or more etching gases comprise hydrogen bromide (HBr) and said one or more deposition precursors comprise an amino-silane precursor. processing chamber;
An etching gas delivery system configured to introduce one or more etching gases into the processing chamber;
A deposition precursor delivery system configured to introduce one or more deposition precursors into the processing chamber;
A vacuum pump system in fluid communication with the processing chamber, wherein the vacuum pump system:
As a first roughing pump, the vacuum pump system is configured to direct the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors through the first roughing pump;
2nd roughing pump;
A turbomolecular pump, wherein the turbomolecular pump is in fluid communication with one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump; and
a vacuum pump system comprising a foreline in fluid communication with the processing chamber and configured to receive the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber; and
A device comprising a diversion line in fluid communication with the deposition precursor delivery system, the diversion line configured to divert deposition precursors not used in a deposition cycle from the deposition precursor delivery system through the second roughing pump. In paragraph 5,
A device wherein said one or more etching gases comprise hydrogen bromide (HBr) and said one or more deposition precursors comprise an amino-silane precursor. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

Images